According to Insee figures, 1 million new businesses were created over the last 12 months, a 30% increase in one year. But behind this record number, the reality is more nuanced and demonstrates, with the explosion in the number of microentrepreneurs in the delivery sector, a certain trend towards uberization.
The delivery sector accounts for 1 in 6 new businesses
Over the past 12 months, Insee has recorded 996,217 new business start-ups. In 2020, 848,164 new businesses were created. The number of business start-ups, up 31% in one year, has reached a record level, but masks a mixed reality.
While Alain Griset, the French Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, welcomed the news as a sign of confidence in the future, it's hard not to see in it the signs of a certain precariousness.
3 out of every 4 businesses created are sole proprietorships, which are not intended to grow, but which, for those who register, enable them to create their own jobs. For some, this decision follows a job loss, or a realization, with the spread of telecommuting, that many activities can be carried out remotely, particularly in the professional training, digital and e-commerce sectors.
Two-thirds of businesses created in the last 12 months are microenterprises, and between January and June 2021, 1 in 6 new businesses were registered in the home delivery sector.
With the closure of restaurants leading to both an increase in demand and the loss of many small student jobs, the number of micro-business delivery drivers has risen considerably. Already in 2020, the number of delivery drivers registered with Deliveroo had risen from 11,000 to 14,000.
The number of companies on the rise
Microenterprises aren't the only business forms being created. The number of company start-ups is also on the rise: from 218,000 in 2019 and 2020, they have risen to 256,000 in the last 12 months.
But for these companies to grow, they need the right support. Currently, according to INSEE, the survival rate of a company after 5 years of existence is 60%. The Réseau Entreprendre association, which supports entrepreneurs, has a survival rate of 90% after 5 years.
While the importance of support is no longer in question, it is still insufficient: only 100,000 business start-ups are supported each year, and it is not certain that the various structures, in need of additional resources, can cope with the influx of new businesses.
The French Ministry of Labor recently released a 65 million euro budget (40 million euros for training, 25 million for financing) for a certain number of entrepreneurs in precarious employment situations, including a percentage of young people under the age of 30.
For its part, the public investment bank Bpifrance is doing a considerable amount of work through the solidarity-based loans it grants to vulnerable groups and those under the age of 30. These zero-interest loans, with no application fees, also provide access to 3 years' support. Bpifrance plans to double the number of honorary loans granted, from 12,500 this year to 25,000 by 2022, using the stimulus package.
For the past 20 years, policies have been in favor of business start-ups, which has resulted in significant growth over the past 10 years. ETIs (mid-sized companies) have risen from 1,000 in 2010 to 5,800, while SMEs, which numbered just 12,000 in 2010, have risen to 148,000 according to the latest census in 2018.